Every city is a living being that evolves and grows, and Florence is not an exception. Florence has the best from the old times, but it is also a place for the young, open to modernity and ready for future trends.

The re-opening of il Mercato Centrale, located in the very heart of the city at la Piazza del Mercato Centrale-Via dell’Ariento, only 5 minutes away from Santa Maria Novella and Piazza San Marco, gives Florence a new look, making it a true avant-garde gastronomic capital.

With an ecologic home delivery service, a restaurant, a pizzeria, a bar, a coffee shop, a Cooking and a Wine school, a bank, a book shop and a store of typical Florentine products, among other places and services, il Mercato Centrale introduces itself as a really pleasant meeting point for everyone who wants to eat, to have a drink or just to have a nice time in the city center.

At first sight you wouldn’t find any common points between Michelangelo and Jackson Pollock. Both of them were great artists but the style of one has nothing to do with the style of the other. They also lived in completely different times. However, they had something in common: the capacity of creating artworks meant to touch the public’s hearts. Now, in order to commemorate the 450th anniversary of Michelangelo’s death, a special exhibition named La figura della furia (The fury’s figure) will be shown at il Palazzo Vecchio starting on April 15th.

Action painting will face the Renaissance. In addition, the influence of Michelangelo’s works in the young Pollock will be exposed. The event is thought to be a sort of experiment, trying to compare these two geniuses and their respective times.

Soon we will be giving you more details of La figura della furia, but we want this to act as an appetizer. Are you hungry for culture? Florence is your best choice.

Several special activities involving Science are taking place in Florence until the 20th March in order to celebrate Galileo’s 450th anniversary. The Natural History Museum, Il Museo Galileo and The Garden of Archimedes – A museum for Mathematics are only some of the several institutions that contributed to organize these events. At Buon Cumpleanno Galileo (in Italian) you can find the complete schedule and decide which activity you would like the most. But, first, we should pay a little tribute to the man for whom all this is going on: Galileo Galilei.

The son of a quite open-minded musician, Vincenzo Galilei, Galileo was born in Pisa the 15th February 1564. A very talented young man, he started studying medicine at the age of 17, although he would later change the study of the human body for the study of numbers. He obtained a prestigious job as a Mathematics professor and by 1610 he had already invented some revolutionary astronomical instrument as he started working for the Tuscan Duke. However, his relationship with the Vatican began to be tense; a situation that worsened when he defended the heliocentric system. These ideas along with his collisions with the Inquisition condemned him to a house arrest in Florence until his death in 1642.

Florence is well-known for being one of Italy’s fashion capitals as well as the artisans’ main town. So, if you are the kind of person who likes bringing some souvenirs back home, you will fall in love with Florence. We have selected three specific parts of the city according to what you may be looking for:

- Piazza Duomo: not far from this point you can find big stores such as Zara or Benetton as well as il Mercato Nuovo, which is perfect for some quick shopping of souvenirs or gifts.

- Via Tornabuoni: the luxury designers’ street. If you want to take a look at what’s new in Ferragamo, Gucci or Yves Saint Laurent, you know where to head for now.

- Ponte Vecchio and Oltrarno: in case you are into craftsmanship you just have to cross the bridge to find the handcrafted treasures you’re searching for… or simply to drink something in the beautiful Piazza Santo Spirito.

The majority of stores are closed on Sundays and several of them close their doors during lunch time. The working day ends around 7:30 p.m. We suggest you the mornings or the early evenings for doing some shopping.

When my daughter L. was just a child, I used to be her hero. We were the best friends in the world and in fact, since her mother passed away short after L. was born, it was only the two of us together, joining forces against the world. Nonetheless, she became a teenager and things changed. Now she barely ever speaks to me. But I am about to turn the tables. I was surfing the Internet the other day, looking for something cool to do with my kid during Christmas and I found out about this really good looking hotel in Florence named Il Salviatino. I saw they are launching a special Festive Season package inspired by… ‘The Great Gatsby’!

source: hollywoodreporter.com

When I first read it I couldn’t believe it! That one is L’s favorite book! She has read it more than twice and she told me few months ago how much she would love to have the chance to be a part of that story. So, as you can guess, this is going to be my gift to her. I will take her to Florence without telling her anything and then I will surprise her. We will dance to the music of the last film adaptation of the book, dressed up in the 20’s style, imagining that Jay Gatsby is our host and that he is dancing with Daisy near to us in such a beautiful environment.

Hopefully this will not only be the best Christmas of our lives, but I will also have the opportunity to make my daughter happy and be her friend again. So I want to thank Il Salviatino’s team from the bottom of my heart for having such a wonderful idea.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to everyone!

*All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

This Christmas is not going to be about Santa Claus. It is all going to be about The Great Gatsby!

What a fine man to celebrate Christmas eve with, don’t you think? But his spirit is not the only good thing to invade Il Salviatino these days. The villa is dressing up in bright lights and nice decorations to be ready for these festive days, when you will have fun and dance to the rhythm of the original soundtrack of this year’s succesful film adaptation of Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s work.

‘A little party never killed nobody’ they say, so why don’t you come and party with us this Christmas? This is what we have to offer:

Two nights in the room or suite of your choice

Il Salviatino breakfast daily

Welcome drink on arrival

Christmas gift in-room

Christmas Eve dinner (with ﬁ sh menu as per Italian tradition)

A traditional Christmas day luncheon

A one hour spa treatment at Spa Il Salviatino

A farewell gift

Late check out on departure day (on request, upon availability)

And as some additional benefits:

24 hour Ambassador service

In-room Nespresso coffee machine

In-room complimentary mineral waters at turndown

Complimentary Wi-Fi

Complimentary newspaper

Complimentary access to gym

Complimentary parking

The Christmas Package is priced from € 988,00 and is thought for two people in a double room, from the 24th December to the 26th December.

A healthy lifestyle is always convenient, and when you can mix health with pleasure the result is not only good for your body, but also for your mind and your spirit. That is the effect the hiking itineraries on the Fiesole hill pursue.

Until Sunday 27th October you can discover the natural and cultural secrets of the Fiesole country in a different way: on foot! Since last April a series of hiking tours has been taking place in here. And now that the cold weather has not arrived yet, you are still on time to go through this unique experience. During this month the itinerary will take you to the old Fiesole to show you its historical and artistic treasures such as St. Dominic, the Badia Fiesolana and the Music School of Fiesole. In addition, as well as walking the ancient routes and seeing the famous villas spread along the hill, you will also be told some stories and anecdotes from the Fiesole’s past. The walk takes three hours from 9am until noon and, although the journey is free, you have to previously book yourself at least two days before the tour. For more information on the booking, you can visit this website: Hiking on the Fiesole hill.

The Cycling World Cup 2013 is almost to take Florence. From September 22nd to 29th cyclists from everywhere will arrive to the city in order to hit the road and cut the wind with their two wheels vehicles. And to start warming up a bit, there is a close to be shown exhibition which you may want to see. Anyway, is there anything more agreeable than going out with your bike and going over Florence? The one hundred years ago people should have also thought so, because that is what ‘Biciclette in archivio. L’Archivio in Bicicletta’ is about.

From September 17th to 30th (10 am. – 2 am. Monday and Friday | 10 am. – 5.30 pm. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) the Historical Archive of Florence will open its doors to the visitors in order to show them the first days of this popular mean of transport in town. How the citizens back then started to use in their everyday life and also in a sportive way, developing the Giro d’Italia, hosted in Florence in 1909. So, are you into cycling? In case you are, we are sure you will enjoy this sort of travel to the past to revive the thrill. From Il Salviatino, your 5 stars hotel in Florence, we encourage you to dust off your wheels, get on moving and have fun!